1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic shift lever, and more particularly, to a folding fan type electronic shift lever in which a plurality of gear shift units are rotated to the outside of a center fascia and spread when an operating button is operated, and the plurality of gear shift units are sequentially stacked and accommodated in the center fascia when the operation of the operating button is stopped.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a transmission is an apparatus that transmits power generated by an engine to drive wheels while changing rotational force and speed depending on a driving state of a vehicle, and classified into a manual transmission and an automatic transmission.
A driver who drives the vehicle may manipulate a shift lever, which is mounted on a console surface at the periphery of a driver seat or mounted on a steering handle, so as to change a gear shift stage of the manual transmission or the automatic transmission to a desired gear shift stage.
The manual transmission is operated in a manner in which when the driver selects a gear, which is suitable for a driving state of the vehicle, using the shift lever, a movement desired by the driver is transmitted to the manual transmission through a cable  or a rod. The automatic transmission is operated in a manner in which the driver drives an inhibitor switch through a cable by moving the shift lever so as to transmit a movement desired by the driver to the automatic transmission.
Particularly, recently, instead of a mechanical shift lever, usage of an electronic shift lever, which substitutes a mechanical connection structure between the transmission and the shift lever with an electrical connection structure using an actuator and an ECU is increased.
The electronic shift lever does not have a mechanical cable connection structure unlike the mechanical shift lever, and needs to have a position sensor unit that converts the driver's intention of shifting gears into an electronic signal, but there are advantages in that the driver may efficiently and conveniently manipulate the shift lever.
As the types of electronic shift levers, there are a lever type electronic shift lever which is operated in a manner in which an electronic shift lever protruding from a console surface of the vehicle is manipulated forward and rearward, a dial type electronic shift lever in which a cylindrical electronic shift lever mounted on the console surface of the vehicle is manipulated by being rotated clockwise and anti-clockwise, a column type electronic shift lever in which an electronic shift lever mounted at a side of the steering handle of the vehicle is manipulated upward and downward, and a button type electronic shift lever in which a button on which gear shift stages of the vehicle are indicated is manipulated by being pressed.
However, the lever type electronic shift lever in the related art has a problem in that a trajectory of rectilinear movement thereof is significantly long because the driver needs to move the entire arm in a front and rear direction or in a left and right direction while manipulating the lever type electronic shift lever, has no great advantage as the electronic shift lever in comparison with a mechanical shift lever because the lever type electronic shift lever is manipulated in a manner similar to a manipulation manner of the mechanical shift lever, and has a problem in that there is a risk that the driver's head may be injured by colliding with the shift lever at the time of a vehicle collision because the shift lever protrudes above the console surface.
When the dial type electronic shift lever in the related art is manipulated, a trajectory of rectilinear movement is hardly generated, but there is a problem in that stress  is put on the driver's wrist and it is inconvenient for the driver to manipulate the dial type electronic shift lever because the driver manipulates the dial type electronic shift lever while rotating the wrist.
The column type electronic shift lever in the related art has an advantage in that a distance from the steering handle is short, but has a problem in that a dynamic trajectory thereof is significantly long because the driver needs to twist the driver's arm to manipulate the column type electronic shift lever.
The button type electronic shift lever in the related art has an advantage in that the button type electronic shift lever is manipulated conveniently and intuitively, but has a drawback in that all of a P-stage button, an R-stage button, an N-stage button, and a D-stage button need to be displayed within a limited space of the shift lever, and thus intervals between the buttons become short.
That is, when the driver presses a button in order to change the gear shift stage, two buttons are frequently pressed at the same time, and as a result, there is a problem in that traveling stability of the vehicle greatly deteriorates due to the aforementioned erroneous manipulation.
In a case in which intervals between the buttons are increased in order to prevent the aforementioned erroneous manipulation, a space occupied by the shift lever becomes excessively great, and as a result, there is a problem in that accommodating space or spaces for installing other buttons for performing specific functions are insufficient.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.